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FIRST Robotics Competition ­ Chairman's Award ­ Team 971
Chairman's Award ­ Team 971 Print
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2017 ­ Team 971
Team Number
971
Team Name, Corporate/University Sponsors
NASA/NASA Ames Research Center/Google/St. Jude Medical Foundation/Apple/Brin Wojcicki Foundation/Abbott
Fund/NVIDIA/DSS SolidWorks/Mountain View High School PTSA/Auris Surgical Robotics/The Crispie Family/Intuitive
Surgical/Creative Manufacturing Solutions/Screen­Tech/Group Manufacturing Services/Givmar Precision
Machining/West Coast Products/RDC Machine & Mountain View High
Briefly describe the impact of the FIRST program on team participants with special emphasis on the 2016/2017
year and the preceding two to five years
"971 taught me advanced technical skills and instilled the confidence I needed to succeed at MIT. 971 inspired me to
pursue mechanical engineering, and I will always be grateful for that." ­Liz Murray, Former 971 Captain & Mentor 100%
Graduation Rate & Pursue Higher Education 90% are STEM Majors 70% Volunteer/Mentor for FIRST 50% of 971's
Mentors are Alumni 1 WFFA 1 Dean's List Finalist 50% of Leadership Council is Female Five Female Student Captains
in Two Years
Describe the impact of the FIRST program on your community with special emphasis on the 2016/2017 year and
the preceding two to five years
"The best example of STEM education in Mountain View is Team 971. When I go into the community, people thank me
because of this program. We've added AP Computer Science and Robotics classes because of the need shown by this
team." ­Dr. Barry Groves, Former MVLA Superintendent 150 students reached at ELD Classes 15+ Community Events
& 5,000 people Established AP Computer Science & Robotics Class Started Los Altos Robotics in 2004 to unify
community for FLL Hundreds of students over 13 years
Team's innovative or creative method to spread the FIRST message
"Being on Mountain View High School's Robotics Team requires more than just technical skills." ­Traci Newell, Writer
for the Los Altos Town Crier 44,000 Youtube Views 1,545 Likes on Facebook 3,790 downloads of 2016 Robot Gif
Features in Los Altos Town Crier & Mountain View Choice Seen by over 77,000 people through ABC Channel 7 News
Partners with sponsors to reach over 3,000 people in two years Introduced FIRST to Mayor of Mountain View in 2017 4
Middle School Demonstrations in 3 Years
Describe examples of how your team members act as role models and inspire other FIRST team members to
emulate
"971 is a wonderful role model for other teams. They build beautiful robots with interesting engineering principles,
while act as a cultural model. The team embodies the principals at the heart of FIRST robotics." ­Ellie Hass, Lead
Mentor, Team 5499 971 representatives are key volunteers at every official Northern California FRC competition over
the past two years Members volunteer at 70% of California offseasons and presented at 2 events Members set up
radios at three offseason events
Describe the team's initiatives to help start or form other FRC teams
"Valkyrie Robotics was founded, in part, by watching 971 push boundaries within the FRC Community. Team 299,
similarly, wants to be on the forefront of technological improvement and community outreach." Lee Mracek, Lead
Mentor, Team 299 Valkyrie Robotics Members/Alumni have helped start three FRC Teams in the last five years: 5803
Apex Robotics 5499 The Sloth Bears 299 Valkyrie Robotics
Describe the team's initiatives to help start or form other FIRST teams (including Jr.FLL, FLL, & FTC)
"971 helped me join an FLL team when I was in elementary school and played a huge role in why I am currently on an
FRC Team." ­Ginger Schmidt 971 Team Captain CAD Lead Los Altos Robotics hosted an FLL Scrimmage & Qualifying
Events 2008­2015 Started and Mentored 25 FLL Teams Started 40 VEX IQ teams 2016 Mentor brought FLL to
California in 1999 Started 1 FTC Team
Describe the team's initiatives on assisting other FIRST teams (including Jr.FLL, FLL, FTC, & FRC) with progressing
through the FIRST program
"At West Coast Products, we enjoy selling the parts Team 971 develops because they raise the playing field by giving
all FRC teams a chance to perform at a higher level" ­Ranjit Chahal, Founder and Owner of West Coast Products
Assisted 83 FRC Teams through emails, tours, workshops Reached Australia, Israel, Canada 971 CAD & Code
downloaded 2,400 times by 250 individual teams Sold over 2,000 Spartan Boards, Hall Effect Sensors, Chain
Tensioners to at least 1,000 teams through WCP
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FIRST Robotics Competition ­ Chairman's Award ­ Team 971
Describe how your team works with other FIRST teams to serve as mentors to younger or less experienced FIRST
teams (includes Jr.FLL, FLL, FTC, & FRC teams)
"971 inspires our students to study advanced engineering and software development. Their students and mentors
share time and skills with us, even going so far as to host our students for day­long training sessions. We hope to share
our passion for STEM with others like 971 does. ­Mike Corsetto Lead Mechanical/Design Mentor, WFFA, FRC Team
1678 Mentored 10 FRC Teams Mentored 25 FLL teams 200 views on Team 971 Training Camp Videos 15 Teams
visited NASA Ames Lab FRC Practice Field
Describe your Corporate/University Sponsors
Auris is proud of its connection with 971. We have been hiring mentors and interns from the team since our earliest
days. 971 employees are well prepared and perform at university student level with additional years of education. ­
David Mintz, VP Engineering, Auris Parent: Monetary Solidworks: In­Kind Google & Intuitive Surgical: Mentors &
Monetary NASA House Team Abbott: Monetary St. Jude & MVHS PTSA: Monetary Auris: In­kind & Mentors Screen
Tech: In­Kind WCP & Apple: Monetary
Describe the strength of your partnership with your sponsors with special emphasis on the 2016/2017 year and the
preceding two to five years
"Thank you for using SolidWorks, showing us the intensity of competition, and achieving so much." ­Marie Planchard
Director of World Education Markets at DS SolidWorks Corporation Parent: 16 years Solidworks: 12 years Google &
Intuitive Surgical: 11 years NASA: 10 years Abbott: 9 years St. Jude: 8 years MVHS PTSA: 5 years Auris: 4 years
Screen Tech: 3 years WCP & Apple: 2 years
Describe how your team would explain what FIRST is to someone who has never heard of it
FIRST is an organization that means more than just building robots and competing with other teams. It fosters a
passion for STEM and instills values and relevant life skills in members, while providing them with hands­on
opportunities in robotics and with a tight­knit community through values such as Gracious Professionalism and
Coopertition that place values on working with others. In particular, FIRST encourages students to work together to
garner the support of their community for STEM.
Briefly describe other matters of interest to the FIRST judges, if any
Every day, I learn something great from this team, and as a college student, I'm proud to be part of such a strong
community. 971 provides me a family and support system every person needs. I know how to strive for excellence in
part because of this team. Megan Guttieri, Mentor 971, UC Berkeley Class of 2020 Voted #7 in FIRST Updates Now
Popularity Contest 3/3 our captains last year were women. 2/3 are women this year Robot Being Used for Disabled
Students Play
Team Captain/Student Representative that has double­checked this submission.
Ginger Schmidt
Essay
Over a course of 15 years, members of Team 971 have maintained one central goal­to use FIRST Robotics as a
catalyst for individuals to become the best versions of themselves. Personal expectations rise as we seek to create
robots that are increasingly advanced while sharing a genuine passion for FIRST in all our interactions. Our mission
begins with students, extends into our community and beyond, and flourishes within robotics education programs.
By being a member of 971, the early exposure to STEAM principles gives every student equal opportunities to gain
vital skills that benefit them throughout their educational careers and beyond. Our students' talents are recognized by
educational institutions and engineering firms alike. 100% of team graduates pursue higher education, with many
attending elite engineering colleges such as MIT, Olin, Caltech, UC Berkeley, and Harvey Mudd. As a result of technical
and leadership skills that our students acquire, they earn internships at companies such as Intuitive Surgical, Auris
Surgical Robotics, Peloton Technology, Ford, SpaceX, Google, and Agilent. Peloton has even utilized drive code
developed by 971 team members that allows two­ton semi­trucks to utilize self­driving techniques to maintain their
distance, allowing for safety and fuel saving advantages. This is a great example of our students impacting the
commercial world beyond FIRST and our own community.
Students are the uniting factor in everything we do; therefore, we are always increasing team accessibility to all high
schoolers. Our team is funded solely by sponsors, and we provide grants to those who need financial assistance when
traveling to overnight events so any student can be a full member of the team, regardless of socioeconomic
background. This inclusiveness has let female participation grow from 1 to 2 females, to ? of our team being female.
Our students experience a sense of accomplishment that comes from being part of a team that is greater than the sum
of its parts. Making it easier for students to join our team gives back to our community in the long run, because we're
bringing more students into the FIRST family.
To reach students inside and outside of our own high school, we also forge partnerships within our community, beyond
our own high school, in every way­­ through our city, other schools, and team sponsors. Los Altos Robotics began
when many former 971 members were in FLL, and is now run by several 971 mentors and alumni parents. This group
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FIRST Robotics Competition ­ Chairman's Award ­ Team 971
introduces elementary and middle school students to programs such as FLL, VEX IQ , and Botball, to celebrate FIRST
values throughout our area. Los Altos Robotics facilitated the formation of 25 FLL teams over the past five years.
Additionally, one member of our team worked with this organization to start 40 VEX IQ teams. Los Altos Robotics has
also hosted local elementary robotics competitions for almost two decades. 971 students volunteer at these events and
provide robot demos. The group hosted Botball information sessions at Mountain View High School since 2008 and
have helped start at least 20 teams over the last three years. These efforts create a pathway for the middle schoolers of
the South Bay that leads them to join a FIRST Robotics team when they enter high school. Along with reaching out to younger members of our community, we've worked with Mountain View High School's
English Language Development program for the past five years, exposing underrepresented students to STEAM
through workshops and engineering challenges. Additionally, we played a major role in the creation of a robotics class
when 971 students provided input on the curriculum needed to teach the basics of design through challenge­based
projects. The district superintendent credits our team with being the impetus behind the creation of an AP computer
science class. We also provide demos to the entirety of our school's student body at assemblies and club fairs. We foster a strong relationship with the Mountain View Los Altos School District through demonstrations for the school
board and meetings with the superintendent. Because of this relationship, our superintendent approached Google to
obtain a long­term grant for the two FRC teams in our district. Our school district has also guaranteed a year of
sustained funding for our FRC teams should the Google grant become unavailable to us.
971 understands the impact that local government can have on city policies and on spreading FIRST values. As a
result, we hosted Mayor Rosenberg of Mountain View at our robotics lab. He was so thrilled to learn about our
program, that he made plans to attend the 2017 Silicon Valley Regional to learn more about the FIRST Robotics
Competition. We garner strong connections with our sponsors by sending updates with photos and examples of how their
sponsorship is making a difference in our lives. With sponsors, we share a desire to expose as many people as
possible to robotics and FIRST. Intuitive Surgical consistently invites the team to demonstrate at events such as their
annual company picnic and their Robonaza event. Furthermore, the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce asked our
team to demonstrate alongside top engineering and software firms at the annual Mountain View Technology
Showcase. Abbott Laboratories has twice invited us to demonstrate robots at their Innovation Symposium, in 2009 and
this past year. Another sponsor, NVIDIA, has featured our team on their Facebook page, distributing our message to
over 488,440 online followers. SolidWorks featured us on their team blog from 2014­2015, enabling us to also bring
FIRST to 1,300 people because of their Twitter page.
Essay ­ page 2
We also spread FIRST's message broadly and effectively through various types of media. Our YouTube and Facebook
page combined reached more than 45,000 followers as of February 2017. Furthermore, nearly 4,000 people have
shared a video of our 2016 robot. Our team has been featured on ABC Channel 7 News, Mountain View Voice, and the
Los Altos Town Crier, allowing us to share FIRST with our entire community. FIRST values resonate within Silicon
Valley because of passion demonstrated by our team.
Our students are not done with FIRST when they graduate; they give back to our team, other teams, and FIRST as an
organization. Eighty percent of all graduates continue to support FIRST; numerous alumni have mentored FRC teams
across the country such as 5803, 1983, 321, 5499, and 190. We keep in contact with our alumni; in fact, almost half of
our mentors were students on 971. We have hosted an annual alumni potluck for the past five years during December
break so that alumni can return and tell the team what they are doing in college and beyond.
Members of 971 have such a deep passion for FIRST that they constantly volunteer in positions that are crucial to the
success of many official regionals and offseason events. In at least 15 competitions over the past two years, mentors
have volunteered in positions such as Field Technical Advisor, Field Supervisor, Control Systems Advisor, Lead Robot
Inspector, Master of Ceremonies, Game Announcer, and Judge. We make these contributions because we believe in
the spirit of FIRST Robotics and will support all efforts to aid in its success.
As a team, we strive to be approachable in order to ensure that any team can gain more knowledge and also push their
own limits. We've assisted 83 FRC teams throughout the world via email, in­person assistance, or tours of our shop by
making it apparent that anyone and everyone can approach our team. Over the past five years, we've directly mentored
10 teams through meetings, CAD and code reviews, and workshops, as our way of bolstering their knowledge base
and level of play. Hundreds of FRC teams have also accessed the resources pages on our website for information
about our safety policy, team structure, and past CAD models. One of our proudest efforts to advance the capabilities of all robotics teams is through the sensors and parts our
mentors and students develop, such as the West Coast Products (WCP) Hall Effect Sensor and Spartan Board. These
parts enable teams to access advanced control systems within FIRST Robotics. The Spartan Board is an MXP board
custom designed to interface with the RoboRIO to provide more secure wire connections and a high­quality gyro. This
year, the Hall Effect Sensors were available in the FIRST Choice Kit of Parts, and Spartan Boards have been used on
four different continents by over 1,000 teams. To increase accessibility to all FRC teams, the cost of Spartan Boards has
been reduced by half for the 2017 season. Additionally, #25 and #35 Chain Tensioners we developed in the 2016
season are available through WCP. The hardships of building an FRC robot must be understood, so we seek to make
this process easier in any and every way we can. Additionally, we enable teams to learn from our experiences by
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FIRST Robotics Competition ­ Chairman's Award ­ Team 971
making Spartan Robotics CAD and Code available for anyone to download. Since 2014, there have been over 2,300
individual downloads, and we assisted at least 250 unique teams in this fashion. As a FIRST team, we are determined
to share our skills so that other teams can aspire to push their own capabilities within this program.
On Team 971, excellence is not defined by our performance at competitions or simply within our robots. Instead, it rests
in our ability to reach tens of thousands of people and share our passion for STEM. The values and principles FIRST
provides bring out knowledge and dedication that enable members of 971 to become the best version of themselves.
From the products we sell through West Coast Products and provide through the Kit of Parts, to the tens of thousands of
lives we have touched, Spartan Robotics is proud of our accomplishments. As years progress, we will continue our
mission of giving others the tools and opportunities to learn, excel, and make great contributions to society
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